Suddenly finding myself with a lot of time on my hands, I’ve decided this year to check out the Montréal World Film Festival. Now in its 33rd year, this mainstay of the Montréal film calendar is the vocation of Serge Losique. Each year, he curates a collection of auteur-driven films that will likely not find commercial success in North America. Because of its place in the calendar just before TIFF, that’s probably a good strategy, and the festival attracts a core of cinephiles who may find Toronto’s fest too celebrity-driven for their tastes. Best of all, this year, an all-you-can-watch passport is only $80!
Though the festival kicks off tomorrow night and continues until September 7th, I’ll only be there from Monday to Friday next week. Although that cuts down the possibilities substantially, I’m looking forward to rediscovering a wonderful city I haven’t visited in more than 15 years. Here are a few of the films I’m definitely trying to make time for:
- Atletu (The Athlete) (Directors: Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew)
- Distanz (Distance) (Director: Thomas Sieben)
- Lille Soldat (Little Soldier) (Director: Annette K. Olesen)
- Tatarak (Sweet Rush) (Director: Andrjzej Wajda)
- Draußen am See (Losing Balance) (Director: Felix Fuchssteiner)
- Ne me libérez pas, je m’en charge (My Greatest Escape) (Director: Fabienne Godet)
- Ganesh, Boy Wonder (Director: Srinivas Krishna)
- Utolsó idök (Lost Times) (Director: Áron Mátyássy)
Despite having a truly terrible website, the Montréal World Film Festival promises lots of value and a chance to see films that won’t be at TIFF or perhaps anywhere else on a large screen, and so I’m looking forward to checking it out. I’ll also be catching up with some friends while there, so dispatches may be frequent or infrequent, reviews or something else entirely.